


Say the words you long to hear

by CelesteFitzgerald



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 00:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20267185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesteFitzgerald/pseuds/CelesteFitzgerald
Summary: Ringo is stuck in the hospital, so George spends the night by his side. As Ringo sleeps, George takes the opportunity to confess the way he feels. Even though Ringo can't hear him, George is satisfied with being able to finally tell the truth.





	Say the words you long to hear

Waking up with a start, George looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Why was he sleeping in a chair…?

His eyes landed on the white bed next to him, and the memories came back. Now he could make out Ringo’s sleeping form through the darkness of the hospital room, and he sighed in…well, not quite relief. There was nothing relieving about seeing his best friend stuck in the hospital. And that’s what Ringo was. His best friend.

Just his best friend.

George sighed again, with even less relief. Ringo still didn’t know how George felt about him. (John and Paul, on the other hand, were getting suspicious. How could they _not_ be suspicious after George had insisted on spending the night in the hospital with Ringo for the third night in a row?)

Months ago, George had made a vow to himself to keep his feelings a secret, but at moments like this it was hard. He wanted nothing more than to grab Ringo’s hand and shower his face in comforting kisses. But he knew he couldn’t.

George stood up and walked to Ringo’s bedside. He looked so peaceful. If it wasn’t for all the equipment and bottles of medicine lying around, it would be hard to tell he was in the hospital.

Carefully, he sat down next to Ringo. Ringo didn’t stir—he must have been in a much deeper sleep than he had been during the other two nights. With him sleeping so soundly, George allowed himself to brush a few strands of hair out of his face. _God_, he was gorgeous. Even in the dark, with Ringo’s eyes tightly shut, George could imagine their exact shade of blue. He imagined them fluttering open and staring deeply into George’s as Ringo pulled him in for a kiss…

His imagination was dangerous.

Coming back to the present, George realized that he was still running his fingers through Ringo’s hair. He was about to jerk his hand back when he noticed that Ringo still hadn’t moved, aside from the steady rise and fall of his chest. Ringo really was sleeping through everything, wasn’t he?

And that’s when George had an idea.

“Ritchie?” His voice was quiet—hopefully quiet enough to not disturb him.

Ringo still didn’t move.

George swallowed. This was his chance—his chance to say all the words he had been holding back.

“Ritchie,” he whispered, “I know you can’t hear me—and trust me, it’s better this way. I…don’t know why I’m even doing this, to be honest.” He smiled in a silent laugh before continuing. “I just…need to tell you…how much you mean to me. And that’s everything—you mean everything to me, I mean.” He brushed his thumb across Ringo’s cheek. “I just wish I could tell you that for real.”

George’s lip quivered as he pulled back his hand. He really needed to get back to sleep. Yet, he didn’t move. There was still one last thing he wanted to say. But he shouldn’t—he couldn’t. It was too risky, even now.

But this might be the only chance he’d ever get.

So, George took a deep breath, and said the phrase he swore he’d never speak:

“I love you.”

* * *

The sunlight streamed bright through the windows the next morning, but it was the creaking of Ringo’s bed that woke George. “Ritchie, you’re up,” he yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“’Morning, George,” Ringo said, stretching out his arms. “Sleep well?”

“Alright,” George said. “It looked like you certainly did.”

Ringo shrugged. “Suppose so.”

“Are you feeling any better?”

“You know what, Georgie, I can honestly say that I’m feeling fantastic.”

George happily returned his smile.

They continued talking a while longer, ignoring the brief interruptions from the nurse. Eventually, though, George accepted that he needed to head over to rehearsal before John and Paul kicked him from the group. He gave Ringo a quick hug, grabbed his bag, and headed toward the door.

“W—George, wait.”

He turned back toward Ringo, who was wringing his hands in his lap and avoiding eye contact.

“Can you come here for a second?” Ringo asked.

“Of course.” George walked back to him, once again taking a seat on the side of the bed.

Ringo fidgeted with one of his rings before finally meeting George’s eyes. “I just…I need to….”

George waited patiently for Ringo to say what he needed to say. For him, he would wait a lifetime—

In an instant, Ringo placed his hands on either side of George’s head and leaned forward.

When their lips met, George felt like he stopped breathing and started breathing for the first time all at once. He wrapped his arms around Ringo’s back, pulling him closer. This was too good to be true. But each time they pulled apart for air and brought their lips together again, the warmth of Ringo’s mouth against his own was proof that it was beautifully, perfectly real.

After another minute, Ringo finally pulled away, and George blinked to find the gorgeous eyes he had dreamed of staring right back. With his hands still caressing George’s face, Ringo opened his mouth and said the phrase George swore he’d never hear:

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was requested by johnkalangsatabi on tumblr. Thank you so so much for the lovely fic idea, it was so much fun to write <3


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